From Research Teams to AI Teammates: The Future of Multifamily Strategic Research: Q&A with Florey Street Advisors’ Brad Dillman

Multifamily research has wrestled with tensions and conflicts between data, technology, judgment and experience.

Brad Dillman, founder of Florey Street Advisors, believes that agentic AI can help multifamily investors access institutional-grade strategic research, combining domain expertise, proprietary data and advanced analytics to improve decisions at greater speed, scale and efficiency.

He recently answered several questions concerning artificial intelligence and its role in multifamily decision-making strategies.

Q: What are some of the biggest misconceptions about AI-native research in multifamily investment strategy?

A: The biggest misconception occurs when people don’t understand that AI enhances human expertise and makes it more accessible at the same time.

When done correctly, novel AI and data science systems produce AI teammates that have made analog research approaches obsolete. It changes how businesses approach and organize in-house research teams, leading to more streamlined and in-depth solutions.

Everything Florey Street does rests on my long track record of in-house residential real estate investment strategy and my experience as an analyst, forecaster, data scientist, and AI orchestrator.

Q: How has the technology itself changed?

A: What started nearly two years ago as a team of chatbots evolved into a hierarchical agentic AI system, where coordinated agents use proprietary machine learning, forecasting and analytical models to develop insights, apply them and communicate their findings in natural, human-like language.  Users can access the system through a desktop chat assistant that maintains ongoing conversations or a fast-response mobile chatbot designed for use at conferences and dinners. We also offer an email integration, allowing clients to interact with AI teammates directly from their inbox.

Overall, the system can augment or serve as the strategic research function because it draws on domain expertise and proprietary analytics to deliver its analysis.

Q: What makes the Florey Street approach different from a traditional multifamily research model?

A: Traditional research has relied on two types of people: non-technical experts who interpret industry trends and present them to the general public, and data scientists who represent the world in data points. The best and obvious answer was for an organization to find a single individual with both skill sets.

Florey Street takes that approach further by combining domain expertise, advanced modeling and a team of AI agents to support experienced strategists and investors. The result is institutional-level strategic research at a fraction of the cost. The AI platform can also be customized or scaled with additional human advisory services as needed.

We’ve also designed the experience to feel natural and engaging. The AI teammates have distinct personalities to help the system feel more like an extension of a client’s internal team rather than another software dashboard. For more specialized needs, we also offer customized tools, raw data analysis and retained advisory services.

Q: Can you give examples of how the technology is being used in the real world?

A: A typical user emails our system as they would a research colleague. They might ask for a market or submarket assessment, a preliminary investment analysis of a property, or thought leadership analyses. Other requests might involve property-specific rent growth assumptions or broader strategic questions, such as developing a value-add strategy for Seattle or identifying submarkets with exposure to the defense technology industry.

What they get, in response, are data-driven conclusions. This comes from an independent, forward-looking perspective that is intellectually honest, looks beyond individual-deal biases and uses data and AI to inform capital allocation. Compared to analog approaches, this is deep analysis, faster and at a fraction of the cost.

Q: What does this suggest about the role of research itself as AI becomes more common?

A: Sophisticated capital allocators need intellectually honest, research-backed conclusions that are delivered efficiently and cost-effectively to help guide effective capital deployment.

AI can help that research become more valuable when it delivers useful insights. Chatbots can replace fact-finding, news reporting and conference notes. Florey Street goes further by delivering conclusions grounded in experience and proprietary analytics. At the same time, trained and knowledgeable humans are necessary to the process.

The goal is to help companies generate insights faster and understand their business implications sooner, supporting more informed investment decisions and execution. Clients who want direct human input, because they need additional judgment, can subscribe to advisory services and work with me personally.

Q: What are the biggest challenges when AI is used for research?

A: The biggest challenge is ensuring that the technology is paired with sufficient domain knowledge and analytical expertise. This determines whether we ask the right questions and interpret the results correctly. At larger firms, research analysts can use our platform to expand their capabilities. Meanwhile, investment and capital-raising professionals at smaller firms can combine our platforms with their advisory services.

Our tools can help some firms establish or replace a research function. Florey Street’s technology allows those with the right expertise to work faster and at a greater scale, while applying their own judgments to our analyses to reach sound conclusions.

Q: How do you expect AI to affect multifamily research in the future?

A: AI can offer smaller firms access to strategic capabilities and specialized intelligence that were once the purview of large owners and capital allocators. At the same time, the technology can encourage larger groups to reassess how to organize research teams and ensure better outcomes.

I anticipate that forward-thinking professionals will move beyond using AI for simple fact retrieval. They will use platforms like Florey Street to work alongside AI teammates that are orchestrated and powered by the analytics and approaches of proven domain experts. It’s easy to envision AI as a tool that populates a spreadsheet. Still, with Florey Street, we are talking about a new paradigm: AI integrated with analytics and expertise to supercharge what you can assess and consider in your multifamily investment strategy.

Finally, I also expect other firms to imitate the Florey Street approach. While data science and AI applications are relatively easy to replicate independently, the tested expertise and domain knowledge to bring them all together is not. Florey Street provides an alternative for firms requiring institutional-grade strategic research without requiring or maintaining an in-house function.

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